


Illuminated

by evenmyneck (stopmopingstarthoping)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Ficlet, Fluff, Inspired by Art, Kissing, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Timeskip, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 22:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20803733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping/pseuds/evenmyneck
Summary: Claude shows Byleth a new bow of his, and the feelings that have always been unspoken between them come to the surface.





	Illuminated

"I know you don't need _ me _ to show you, but it does have a couple of little quirks. Do you mind?" Claude looks down at the bow, then up at Byleth with what he hopes is a winning, easy grin, hoping to draw a smile or a blush in response. 

Byleth just nods, and deprives him of a glance, but the slight pink rising on her cheeks tells him he's gotten one out of two. He'll take those odds. 

He picks up the large, ornately-wrought bow and steps behind her in one smooth motion. When his arms come around her to let her position her hands next to his, Claude almost flinches from the contact, certain she's going to feel his heart beating right through their clothes. 

She's doesn't seem to, and her coolness against his warmth is its own comfort. There is the smallest smile teasing around the corners of her lips, and even if she's laughing at him a little, he'll take it. 

Byleth's head is turned to sight straight down her arm, of course, and Claude lets her grip the bow and take it from him. His fingers whisper lightly under the arm guard at her wrist. 

"It's heavier than it looks, isn't it?" The words ruffle her hair, gleaming in the golden sunlight of late afternoon. He watches the curve of her shoulder muscle tense to hold the weapon straight. 

She nods, stern and businesslike, fingers wrapping around the bow's grip, but Claude sees her lips open just a fraction and her eyes flicker over to where his braid is swinging to tangle with the waves on her own shoulder. 

"The draw is a little different, too." Claude waits for Byleth to pluck the bowstring between her fingers and curves his other hand up to cradle her bicep, guiding her pull just slightly back, and then forth, and then back again. 

"Feel that?" He means the sweet spot of the bow's tension, of course. But Claude would swear to the Goddess, if he believed in such things in the way that most people do, that the smallest tremor runs through Byleth at his words and that she relaxes, just a fraction, into the half-embrace of his arms. 

The sun glints off the polished, carved surfaces of the bow, and Claude closes his eyes for the briefest moment. Byleth is warrior-sturdy against him, and smells of something he can't quite name, but he'd call it magic if he was superstitious. It calls up the sharp crackle of a mage's strike in his mind, so maybe he's not wrong. 

When his eyes open again, Byleth takes a deep breath and releases the bow. 

"Impressive. I'm sure it's served you well." Her voice is low and quiet, but it still vibrates against Claude's chest. 

Byleth has let go of the string, tensed her arm against the slight kick forward, but she hasn't moved from her pose. Almost instinctively, Claude's fingers fan out over Byleth's upper arm. Her wrist leaves his other hand, slowly, as she lowers the bow. He trails his hand after hers as long as he dares. 

Byleth turns her head to look him in the eye without stepping away, and she's so close her breath tickles his lips. 

"Thank you." There's a long beat, and those wide azure eyes search his for a moment. "For showing me." 

Claude gathers the feeling in his chest and tips his head close. A small quirk of his eyebrows in question is met with a tiny sigh, and when their lips meet it's more fierce and less tender than he'd expected. 

They pause, and he studies her eyes again. 

"Thank you." He doesn't say _ for everything_, because it feels too corny, but Byleth seems to know he means it, because she laughs into his mouth and grips hard at the back of his neck. 

"Tell me later." 

"Later's good."

Her lips curve against his again, and the last rays of the setting sun fill the room with a burst of light. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [ this beautiful art](https://twitter.com/nagi_momoka/status/1177054762195243008?s=19) by @nagi_momoka on Twitter. 
> 
> I have no chill and wrote and posted this before I even got to the timeskip in the game, so if I got some detail wrong because of that, forgive me. I just adore these two together a lot and the art captivated me.
> 
> Please come holler at me [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Stopmopingstart) about FE3H, fic, or anything! ❤️ Thanks for reading.


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